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CONFIDENT LEADERS ATTACK IN LEZÍRIAS

Day three of the Euromilhões PAX Rally connected Benavente to Alcochete and was composed by two SS of 90 kms that resulted in a stage of 602 kms. It was a hard leg for drivers and machines that crossed the beautiful Lezíria Ribatejana before the departure to Portimão.

The spectator areas were full of passionate motorsport fans that didn’t want to waste the opportunity to see all the action. And certainly they didn’t regret the show. The leaders of all categories wanted to stay in front, pressing hard since the first km.

Two victories in today’s stage allowed Carlos Sainz (VW Race Touareg 2) to expand his lead. After starting the leg tied with Luc Alphand (Mitsubishi Pajero Evo), and with a 2 seconds advantage over Stéphane Peterhansel (Mitsubishi Pajero Evo), the Spaniard spent the day riding hard, leaving his main opponents far away. Sainz began the forth stage with an advantage of 2.21 over Peterhansel and 3.19 over Luc Alphand and Giniel de Villiers (VW Race Touareg 2) both tied in third place.

Dieter Depping (VW Race Touareg 2) was also the centre of attention, but in a negative way. The German was forced to abandon the Dakar Series Rally after colliding violently with a tree.

In the bike competition, the Portuguese riders were the “stars” of the day. Ruben Faria (Honda CRF 450), not only maintained the lead by winning both SS, but also increased his advantage over Cyril Despres (KTM LC4 690 Rally) and is now 2.43 faster than the Frenchman. Helder Rodrigues (CRF 450) being second in SS3 and SS4, recovered time from Marc Coma (3rd), standing now only 2.11 behind the Spaniard.

Finally, in the quad competition, Luís Engeitado (Suzuki LTR 450) assumed the lead after eliminating the 41 minute penalization he received on day 1. Again all the 9 quads in competition reached the end of the stage.

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PORTUGUESE RULE IN BIKE AND QUAD COMPETITION

Luc Alphand leads in cars

The first day of competition of the Euromilhões PAX Rally, that connected Lisbon to Castelo Branco, was marked not only by the intense heat, but also by the dominance of the Portuguese riders in the bike and quad competition. In the two wheel category, Ruben Faria (Honda CRF 450) took the lead after CP2 (156,31 km), recuperating from 6th place registered at CP1 (87,40).

Faster in the initial stage of the race, Cyril Depres (KTM LC4 690 Rally) lost some time until reaching the second check point. Not happy with his performance, the Frenchman increased his rhythm and finished the SS in 2nd place, losing more than a minute to Ruben Faria, but gaining 3 seconds from Marc Coma (KTM LC4 690 Rally), that lost second place only at the end of the leg. Third until CP2, Hélder Rodrigues (Honda CRF 450) couldn’t do better than 4th place, but with an advantage of more than 2 minutes relatively to 5th place David Casteau. Brasilian rider Zé Hélio, recent winner of Sertões, (Yamaha WR) occupied 6th place during the whole SS and saw Paulo Gonçalves (Honda CRF 450) finish right behind him, even after a “immediate encounter” with a tree in CP1.

In the car competition, Luc Alphand (Mitsubishi Pajero Evo) passed Carlos Sainz (VW Race Touareg 2) on top of the finish line! At the end of the SS and after the first 223 km of the “crono”, only two small seconds separate the rivals that lead the PAX Rally and despite being only the first day of competition, the Frenchman was the 3rd leader of the Dakar Series race. Dieter Depping was faster at CP1 and Carlos Sainz at CP2.

The first day of the PAX Rally was greeted with an intense "fight" between the leading drivers, with VW and Mitsubishi discussing almost side by side the victory in the first leg. The Japanese team won the first battle, but not the war, as Carlos Sainz stressed at the end of the SS. In third place came Giniel de Villiers (VW Race Touareg 2), closing the group of drivers that have less than a minute (53 s.) of disadvantage to the leader.

Filipe Campos (BMW X3) ended the SS in 7th place, finishing the day as best Portuguese driver – the main goal he wants to achieve. And if this isn’t a reason strong enough to make Campos smile, also he is the fastest BMW driver in the standings.

If in the car competition the foreigners reign, in the bike contest the Portuguese proved that they meen business and in the quads, domination of the national riders is the key word. Luís Engeitado (Suzuki LTR 450) won his category, recuperating some lost time to Rui Mendes (Suzuki LTR 450 in the initial fase of the SS while he gained an advantage of almost 5 minutes upon second place Hubert Deltrieu (Polaris Outlaw 525 IRS).

Rui Mendes started well and even was the fastest rider during CP1, but he lost momentum and, after crossing CP2 in 2nd place, he finished in 4th, behind Miguel Monteiro (Yamaha Raptor 700). One last reference: all 9 quads that departured from Parque Eduardo VII, in Lisbon, arrived at Castelo Branco.

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10-09-2008 - PAX Rally Lisboa - Portimão 2008



Winners of the portuguese Dakar Series rally will be crowned in Portimão
13th Sept. - Arrival of competitors
14th Sept. – 5th Stage Portimão – Portimão

Used to host the Lisboa Dakar Rally during the last years, you will have the oportunity, once again during the weekend on 13th and 14th September, to watch closely this powerfull machines during their final stage in Morgado de Arge, near Portimão. You will experience strong emotions with Pax Rally 2008, the portuguese rally included on Dakar Séries 2008.

Arrival of the cars, motos and quads, that will pass through the V6 and V3 heading to "Zona Ribeirinha", will take place between 14h00 and 18h00 of next Saturday 13th September. Beautiful post card from Portimão, "Zona Ribeirinha" is the choosen area to locate the last service parking, where public can watch the competitors preparing the last stage on day after.

Departure for the last stage, Portimão - Portimão, with a special stage of 65 Kms, will take place in Morgado de Arge, the last opportunity to overpass or defend classification, starts at 8:40 on the 14th. Also, the prize ceremony award will take place just after the end of the stage at this same place, scheduled for 15h30.

Traffic adjustments and Special Free Transportation to see the Pax Rally at Morgado de Arge

Due to the fact that Pax Rally competitors will park at "Zona Ribeirinha", some restrictions in traffic will take place in this area. On "Avenida Guarané" traffic will be closed starting 20.00h of the 12th until 14th September at 14.00h, and on "Avenida Infante D. Henrique" circulation will be done in both ways.

As a way to ensure public access to Morgado de Arge, the City of Portimão will create a special free service on the 14th September, between 6h30 and 11h00, from parkings on the Marina de Portimão, Praia de Alvor (Restinga) passing through Largo do Dique. Return will start at 11h00 from the stage back to the parks.

Arrival of the caravan on the 13th will be done without any traffic restrictions, but on 14th the way out of Zona Ribeirinha to Morgado de Arge, general traffic restrictions will take place between 8h30 and 11h20.

For more information download this.

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09-09-2008 - PRE-EVENT PRESS CONFERENCE


“All the bandits are here”, said Carlos Sainz
During today, Parque Eduardo VII, the Carlos Lopes Pavilion and the “Estufa Fria” were invaded by the competitors of the first edition of the Euromilhões Pax Rally, that completed the always demanding and time consuming scrutineering (administrative and technical), necessary to obtain the “steaker” that allows them to align at the departure.

By the end of the afternoon, some of the competitors that during the next five days are going to be the centre of the attention of the passionate Portuguese spectators were at a Press Conference where Carlos Sainz (VW Touareg 2) cheered the spirits saying that “all of the present are bandits”, pointing to his rivals sitting next to him.

The Spanish driver considers that this event will be “very open, where all want to succeed”, adding that the Euromilhões Pax Rally “will be very difficult due to the narrow tracks that can easily become a problem because all the cars are big”.
One of the themes discussed was the controversial cancellation of the last Lisbon-Dakar. Carlos Sainz recognized that it was “a huge disappointment” for all: “We worked hard during one year to participate in that event and 24 hours before the departure we were informed that it was cancelled.”

About the future Dakar, that will be disputed in January 2009, in Argentina and Chile, the Spanish driver didn’t hide that we will see an “enthusiastic audience” because in Argentina exists a “huge passion” for motor sports, in particular rallies: “The big question is how the organization will give birth to this event and what media coverage will it have. Only after that we can make any analysis.”

Another Spanish driver, Nani Roma (Mitsubishi Pajero Evo) that was runner-up the last edition of the Trasibérico after dominating the rally, returns to Portugal: “I like this country very much and I want to win, even knowing that nothing is guaranteed, especially in such a demanding race.”

For Stéphane Peterhansel (Mitsubishi Pajero Evo), the “biggest difficulty is the fact that we are still developing a new car, with diesel engine, that we are very confident about and that will be our future weapon. This will be the last race with the old car”.
The French driver also didn’t hide his uncertainties: “This race is going to be very difficult and almost impossible to predict any winners because there are many candidates to finish in first place.”

Guerlain Chicherit (BMW X3) confessed that he is “going to try to achieve the best possible result, even knowing that his rivals are very strong”. Because of this fact the German driver doesn’t want to risk any prediction, but he showed confidence revealing that he is going to start the rally with one goal: “I want to win, just like all of us here present.”

In a similar tone, Nasser Al-Attyah (BMW X3) considered that the “race wont be easy for anyone and, certainly, there will be an excellent battle to obtain victory”.

On the other hand, Dieter Depping (VW Race Touareg 2) recognized that his aspirations are limited: “This is my second race of the year and my first time in Portugal. Even if i know it will be very hard, I will fight for the best position in the final standing.”

Filipe Campos (BMW X3), the Portuguese driver that is expected to do well in the Pax Rally 2008, didn’t hide his ambition: “My goal is to be the best Portuguese driver and finish right behind the official teams, much faster than me. I don’t have big chances with them because their cars are superior to mine.”

Finally, Tenente-Coronel Fernandes, coordinator of police for this event, said that “the biggest preoccupation of the organization is the security of the drivers and of the spectators”. To assure that everything goes well, Tenente-Coronel Fernandes explained that there will be around “500 policemen always present during the event, always ready to help all the people involved in this event and to avoid complications with traffic”.

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08-09-2008 - Everything ready for EUROMILHÕES PAX Rally

Still not on the road, but the Euromilhões Pax Rally, second race with Dakar Series label, is already a success. Wednesday, 110 competitors will depart from Lisbon towards Portimão, over five legs and six special stages. At the start will be 52 cars (28 Portuguese), 49 motorcycles (16 Portuguese) and 9 quads (3 Portuguese) that will go over 1500 km, 829 of them against the clock.

In its first edition, the Euromilhões Pax Rally will have the presence of the best international and national drivers, highlighting on cars the presence of the official teams Mitsubishi, Volkswagen and BMW X-Raid and on bikes the KMT and Honda Europe. The media coverage is also guaranteed, with television channels from around the world ensuring the broadcast of the race, in a total of 160 million households to receive images from PAX. The media coverage at site will have more than 150 journalists, from several European countries, Japan and South America.

The www.paxrally.com now presents an interview with the President of the Organizing Committee, Joana Lemos.

How are you feeling just a few days from the start of the 1st Euromilhões PAX Rally?

Motivated, aware of the responsibility which is to organize a rally of this size, but we have confidence in our team!

JLS has already organized departures of Lisbon-Dakar, but was never responsible for an entire motorsport event. Where did you seek help?

We have a partnership with Escuderia Castelo Branco, who organizes races for more than 40 years. They are fundamental to the successful implementation of the rally.

What were the main difficulties that the organization found to assemble this event?

The biggest difficulty was to find a date that could be approved by the Portuguese Automobile Federation, because the schedule this year was pretty booked. We had to adapt to a date that did not prejudice the existing events. And finally we had the normal contingencies of organizing an event that was announced at the end of May! It has been a very intense work done so far by all of us.

Joana is a woman long associated with this sport. Now as chairman of the organization committee, tell us, this rally for which you are responsible is the one you would like to do as a competitor?

Absolutely! I would love it. The specials are spectacular.

What are the strengths of this Euromilhões Pax Rally?

Dedication, passion, and without doubt the special stages. In addition to strong media impact that result from TV agreements that we have and the promised competitiveness, as we secured the best competitors of today.

What will competitors find?

A very diverse race, alternating between fast and winding, but above all, competitors will have to overcome the hardness of tracks. They must save the machines to come to the end.

The presence of the top three teams in official cars is already a victory?

It is a privilege and an enormous vote of confidence. But we must create the conditions so that the teams feel motivated to come and was what we did.

What are your expectations to rally in terms of competition?

I wish that the rally is decided only in the last special.

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25-08-2008 - EUROMILHÕES main sponsor of PAX Rally - 2nd stage of Dakar Series

From today on Euromilhões is the main sponsor of Pax Rally in Portugal. "Jogos Santa Casa" and "João Lagos Sports" agreed on this partnership last friday. Euromilhões Pax Rally in Portugal is the logical prolongation of the strategic sponsoring concerning several Lagos Sports' events with a special enphasis on off-road events, after a three year main support of Euromilhões Lisboa Dakar Rally. This new agreement reveals a trustfull commitment in this adventure taking place between 10th and 14th September. "It wouldn't make sense organizing such a great off road rally like Pax Rally without the participation of Euromilhões, which is already a reference associated to the Dakar Rally", stated Joana Lemos, President of the Organizing Comitee of Euromilhões Pax Rally.

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11-08-2008 - PAX Rally with world wide TV coverage

The first edition of PAX Rally in Portugal, which takes place between 10 and 14th September 2008, will have world-wide television coverage.


Even before the departure of the first vehicle, already 160 countries showed images of PAX Rally and Portugal. Channels such as Eurosport, RTL, Fox Sport International or RTBF, among many others, have already joined the event organized by João Lagos Sports, ensuring a daily compact that will reach 160 million households.


In Portugal, RTP owns the television rights and will produce several programs devoted to the event along their emissions of RTP1 and RTPN.


The Organization, together with Eurosport, will also produce a program of 52 minutes, already bought by several television networks in five continents. The programs follow all the emotion in the fight for the first place but there will also be time to make known the stories of the day and the adventures of amateur pilots.

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09-07-2008 - PAX Rally guarantees internacional top drivers

VW, MITSUBISHI and BMW already registered

PAX Rally in Portugal, Dakar Series event, that will take place from the 9th to 14th of September, has already guaranteed the presence of three of the off-road official teams.

Two months prior to the event, Lagos Sports is pleased to announce the registration of three of the major teams involved in the international off-road events: VW, Mitsubishi and BMW. These top drivers will try to beat each other throughout the five especial stages of PAX Rally.

Portuguese top drivers, such as Nuno Inocêncio, Francisco Inocêncio, Adélio Machado, Hélder Oliveira, José Gameiro, Pedro Gameiro and Alexandra Gameiro are also registered.

Mrs. Joana Lemos, President of the Organization Committee, said: "We are working in order to put together all the necessary ingredients to bring an enormous show to all the fans of the discipline. We are proud not only for having the official teams, but also for having once again, the VW team present in a Portuguese event, something that does not happen for some time. We have also received the registration of top riders in motorbike category, such as the KTM official team. We are continuing to work hard with our partners from Escuderia Castelo Branco to ensure a great event for all".

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27-05-2008 - Press Release

Last January, auto sports in general and all the Portuguese lived the frustration of the early end of the Euromilhões Lisboa-Dakar 2008. But while most people accepted this end with their heads down, others immediately draw plans to light up the flame of the adventure the puts man and machines face to the challenge of overcoming the biggest adversities, on a struggle that excites the planet since 30 years.

With the experience and success showed in past editions, it was inevitable that João Lagos Sports seek to bring again to Portugal the best of the world in cross-country rally.

So it’s with joy that we are here today presenting the result of this idea. The work was hard in the last months so that João Jagos Sports, with the support of Escuderia Castelo Branco – with 44 years of experience organizing cross county events – could draw the PAX RALLY, which will be held between 10 and 14 of September, connecting Lisbon to Portimão.

The PAX RALLY 2008 will host the national and international elite of cross country drivers, along with amateurs from different origins and sensibilities that wish to be present in a competition where challenge and demanding are trade marks.

The PAX RALLY is a cross country rally open to cars, motorbikes and quads.

Complete version of the press release here.

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